ageron



(No Model.) I 4 sheet -sheet 1. J. A. AGERON. BLEGTRIG LIGHTING FORVEHICLES.

Patented Feb. 9; 1897.

W/ 7W E SSE S.

H Ana/Mrs.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(Ho Hodel.)

' J. A. AGERON.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING FOR VEHICLES. 7

- Patented Feb. 9,1897.

m IHHIIIIIIIIIII II III IN VENTG/i:

WITNESSES.

' )1 Won/wars 4Sheets-Sheet 3f muodeli) J. A.-AGERON.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING FOR VEHIGLES.

No. 576,933. Patented Feb. 9, 1897.

, INVENTOH: I

m/QW

ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 4.

J .A..AGERON. ELECTRIC LIGHTING FOR VEHICLES.

4 Patented Pb, 9, 1897. I

FIG-lllhvrrnn Tar-es .arn v'r tries.

JULES ALBERT AGERON, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

etscrsio Licsrme roe VEHEGLESL SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 576,933, dated February 9, 1897. Application filed August 2,l895. Serial lie. 558,000- (No model.) Patented in France May 18, 1895,No] 247,509.

5 Vehicles, Cars, Carriages, Velocipedes, and

the Like, (for which I have obtained Letters Fatent in France, No.247,509, dated May 18,

1895,) of which the following is a full, clear;

and exact description.

lhe object of my invention is to provide devices for the electricallighting of wheeled vehicles, such as railway-carriages, automo- {oilecarriages and others, veloc'lpedes, and the ice.

The principle on which my invention is based is to derive the power fordriving the electric machine from the vehicle itself and to conduct thecurrent to lamps located at suitable places on the vehicle.

it is contemplated in my invention to provide means whereby the lightingwill he effected not only during the forward travel of the vehicle, butalso while'the same is stationary or traveling backward. These objects25 l attain by simple devices the dimensions and weight of whichare suchas not to interfere with the progress of the vehicle. 1 cmploy for theproduction of the electric current a continuous-current,magnetoel'ectric ma 3o chine having its brushes so disposed as topermit of a rotation in either direction. In order to provide for thelightingof the vehicle during stoppages, an accumulator and an automatic circuit-breaker are interposed in the 5 circuit. The accumulatorsupplies the required electric current when the magnetoelectric machineis out'of action, and at the same time the circuit-breaker interposedbetween said machine and the accumulator a o prevents a, discharge fromthe accuml llator 4 5 provided with two brushes.

- into the circuit of the machine.

Finally, in order to enable the lamps .to remain lighted during therearward travel of the v'ehicle' l employ. four automatic circuitbreakers each During the forward travel two of these circuit-breakersestablish a, communication between the poles of the machine andthose ofthe ace um nlator,

while the other two circuit-breakers are out go of contact and thusprevent the-passage of the current into the circuit wherewith they areconnected, 7 During backward travel-the two first-named circuit-breakersare out of contact, while the two others establish communication betweenthe poles of the machine and those of the accumulator, so that thecurrent'which now flows through the machine in the opposite directionwill always pass in the same direction through the accumulator; Duringstoppages the four circuit-breakers will be out of contact, timeinterrupting all communication between the accumulator and the machineas iithere were only one circuit breaker. The electric lamps which areprovided at suitable places on the vehicle are connected directly to theaccumulator.

, Reference is to be bad to the accompanying drawings, forming a' partof this specification, in which similar characters'oii referenceindicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figures 1, 2, and 3 are diagrammatic representations showing theapplication of my improved lighting system to a rnilway-carriage, anordinary wheeled carriage, and a velocipede, respectively. Fig. 4 is abroken end elcvation,-partly in section, of a railway-carriage withtheimproved electrical lighting dedetail sectional view of themagneto-electric machine and-its connections. Fig. 9 is anothersectional view thereot, taken at right angles to Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is adetail view oi the means for throwing the electromagnetic machine intoor out of action. 7 elevation, partly in section, of the improvedelectromagnetic machine employed in connection with the velocipede;".Fig 12 is partly an end view and partly a cross-section on the line 12 of Fig. 11 of the said machine. Figs. 13 and 14 are a cross-sectionand a. longitudi-' Fig. 11 is an nal section, respectively, of themodified elec- I t-romagnetic machine; and Figs. 15 and 16 are alongitudinal and a cross-section, respectively, of the automaticcircuit-breaker em.-

ployed in connection with myinvention.

When the invention is applied to railwaycarri'ages, it is necessary toso construct the lighting device that it will remain in action duringmovement of the car in either dircc-.

loo

travel.

n' o i) lion and during stoppage thereof. The device first shown in Fig.1 therefore comprises the following main parts: the driving ortransmission gear .s- .5" 5' the magneto-electric ma' chine M, fourautomatic cireuit-breakers D l) D- D, an accumulator E, and electric lamps.

in the case of ordinary carriages adapted for animal tract-ion it. isnot necessary to provide for lighting the vehicle during backward Thedevice in this case, therefore, comprises the following parts: thetransmission-geur f i l'-, the continuous-current eleciromi ignetonmchine ill, n single automatic circuit-breaker D, an accumulator E, andelectric lamps. v

in the ease of velocipedcs, Fig. 3, it is superfluous to have the lumplighted in case of stoppage, and it will suihce to provide for the lampbeing lighted during iorwurd travel of the machine. may be ponsiderublysimplified, thereby reducing the weight oi the uttuehmenuu point whichis of great importance in this class of vehicles. The device comprisesonly a transmittengeur, as indicated at it n o it", the electric machineIll, and one lump a.

[is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, the im-- proved lighting device whenapplied to a rsilway-carriage is arranged under the -floor A of the saidcarriage in suitable hangers, as indicated at B, said hangers carryingbearings for the shaft 0 of the msgnciao-electric machine M. The shaftcarries a sprocketwheel r, engaged by a chain 1' to anothersprocket-wheel r on the axle of the car-wheel.

3 D are four automatic circuit-breakers of the class in which a body ofmercury is used, said circuit-breakers being journuled in the frame orhangers B and in the crossbar I), attached thereto. The brushes orcontact-pieces for the said circuit-breakers are secured upon the frameB, but insulated therefrom. The shzift c of the machine currics twofriction-disks (Z d", which are constructed to screw upon the said shaftand are adopted for engagement with the frictiondisks d d (1 (t upon thecircuit-breakers D l) i) D The friction-disks d and (l are held bet-weensprings e e e c", respectively, with force sufiicient to prevent theirrotation as long as the said friction-disks engage with thescrew-threaded portions of the shaft 0. Thus when the machine is startedthe said friction-disks will be held from turning on the shaft andthereby they will be obliged to travel-longitudinally thereof until theycome into frictional engagement with-two of the friction-disks d d (ld". At the same time the friction-disks (Z and d-havereached the end ofthe screw-threaded portions of theshuft c, and are thereby compelled torotate with the shaft. If desired, stops may be provided on the shaft atthe ends of the said screwthreaded portions, asinclicated at e e e e.

During the forward travel of the carriage the friction-disk (1 will bein engagement The arrangement, therefore,

negative pole of the machine and to the negative pole oi theaccumulator. One of the brushes of the circuit-breaker D is connect edto the negative pole of the machine and "the other to the positive poleof the accumulater, and of the brushes of the circuitbrezilier i) one isconnected to the positive pole of the machine and the other to thenegative pole of the accumulator.

It will be understood that during forward travel only thecircuit-breukers D and D will be rotated. The mercury which is contuinedin each of them will establish a contact between the correspondingwires, as will be presently described, and the circuit is closed. Duringrearward travel only the circuit-breakers D D will turn. The polarity ofthe machine is reversed, but it will be understood that the current issupplied tothe accumulator E in the same direction as before. Figs. 1and 4 indicate the circuits as they are during rearward travel.

\Vhen applying my improvements to the lighting of ordinary vehiclesadapted for ani mal traction, it is sufficient to secure the machineindirectly upon the axle of the vehicle, (see Figs. 2, 5, and 6,) saidaxle being held against rotation. Between the axle and the surface uponwhich rests the magnets of the machine'I interpose a disk or plate F, ofdiamugnetic material, such as copper. Motion is derived directly fromthe hub of the wheel by meanspf a. toothed rim g, having internalengagement with the pinion g the rim 9 being secured to a disk g, fixedupon the hub by means of screws and nuts and a conical recess; as shown.The pinion g is mounted upon a shaft 9 supported in bearings g and gextending upwardly from the bracket G, which is secured upon the axle.end of the shaft g carries a'toothcd wheel g, engaging with the pinion gupon the shaft 0 of the machine M. The accumulator E is arranged at anysuitable point on the vehicle. A single circuit-breaker may be employed,as shown at D. The supports h h, between which-the said circuit-breakeris held, are so urranged as to permit the circuibbreakcr to rotate aboutits axis.

On the support 71. are secured the brushes of the circuit-breaker, oneof which is connectedto the positive pole of the machine and the otherto the positive pole of the accumulator. Rotary motion is transmitted tothe circuit-breaker D by means of bevel The other friction-disks h 71one of which is mounted upon the machine-shalt c and the other upon thegearing of the circuit-breaker D.

"When applying the invention to the lighting of velocipedes andbicycles, as shown in Figs. 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10, the construction of thei5 friction-gear, whereby motion is transmitted to the machine. On oneendof the said shaft 1 is secured a rubber disk or Wheel 1, whichengages the inner and side surface of the rim of the bicycle-wheel, andthe other end of 2c the said shaft carries a sprocket-wheel Z from whichmotion is transmitted to the shaft 6 of the electric machine M by meansof a chain 1- and a sprocket Z on the said shaftc.

in order to prevent binding of the small 2 5 wheels Z on the rim of thewheel'and to keepthese two parts in good contact, the rod j issurrounded by a spring 3' which is coiled between two collars j and 3'of which the latter is fixed to the rod 7' In order to throw c thefriction-wheels Z out of gear when it is desired to extinguish thelight, the rider raises the handle m, which rests upon the wheel Z atone side and passes through aper-v tures m in the rod j and the sleevej. As

soon as the handle an comes out of the aper-".

ture or recess of the sleeve the rider may turn the rod j-, therebyremoving the wheel Z from contact with the rim. in this construction noaceumulatoror circuit-breakeris required.

0 The lamp no is placed in a reflector m", whichmay have parabolic shapeand may be provided with a lens, as shown.

The preferred construction of my continu ens-current electric-lightmachine is shown 5 in Figs. 11 and 12. This machine is distinguished byhigh efficiency with reduced Volume and weight. The magnetic field isproduced by six magnetsn of the particular shape shown and connected inseries of three by means of soft-iron pieces or. The two series areplaced opposite each other with similar poles adjacent to each other,but separated loy means of the strip if, of copper or other diamagneticmaterial. This construetion allows of the utilization of almost thewhole magnetic field.

The armature comprises the followin g parts: first, the iron coresecured to the drive-shaft 0; second, the cores oft-he induced circuit;third, the commutator of the collector o; lfourtln thecommutator-brushes 0' 0 The core is composed of a skeleton or drum 1),whose outei'surface is grooved longitudinally, so as to,form tenrecesses 12', separated by ribs 13 and adapted to receive the armature--cores. Thedrnm p is connected to the shaft 0 by means of arms or spokesp and the space 1) between the drum and the shaft 0 is filled withsoft-iron filings. By this construction'I reduce to a minimum the lostenergy due to Foucault currents and to hysteresis. After thearmature-wire is coiled on the drum 1) the cylinder thus formed issurrounded by an iron shell p This increases thepermeability of themagnetic circuit. The wire is coiled in substantially the same manner asin the machine oi the Siemens type, and the collector may be of theusual construction. The brushes 0. o? are so arranged that they willallow the machine to turn in either direction, which is indispensable inthe application of the invention to railway-carriages. For this purposeeach brush-comprises an elastic metallic rod 0 which is slidable upon asupport 0 fixed to the frame of the machine through the medium of aninsulating-piece One of the ends of the rod 0 is provided with a sleeve0 adapted to receive the carbon block 0 which tie-tapering, so as to beof the shape I of a truncated pyramid, and which is held in position bymeans of a clamping-screw. .The elastic rod 0 may hold the small end ofthe carbon block 0 against the collector, and thus rotation may takeplace in'either direction.

In the case of bicycles wherein small diinen'sions and small weight areindispensable i prefer to employ a slightly-modified construction. Themachine employed in that case is an alternating-current machine andtherefore has no collector. (See Figs. 13 and 14.) The conductors of thefield-magnets are the same as in the continuous-current machinehereinbefore described. The armature is or" much simpler construction,and consists of a single coil or spool. Finally,- 1 have provided animproved arrangement whereby the brushes may he done away with, asclearly shown in the drawings.

The automatic circuit-breaker which I employ in connection with myinvention consists (see Figs. 15 and 16) of a cylinderwhosc outer wall11 is made of fibrous material at its center and of metal at two ends,as shown at q g The brushes 7' r of the circuit-breaker are in cont-actwith the parts q and g ithin the ebonite cylinder q is placed ametalliccylinder made in two portions 1 and (1 which are separated by an annularrim projecting from the inner side of the cylinder Each of the saidhollow pieces or sleeves g and g is madeintegral with one of the ends qand q".

The brush 'r, for instance, may be connected with the positive pole ofthe machine and the brush 1" to the positive pole of the accumnlater.The negative poles of the machine and of the aecumulatorare connecteddirectly.

In the circuit-breaker D there is a body of mercury reaching about tothe level of the upper end of the sleeve g v During the travelof thevehicle and the rotation of thccircuitbreakerthe mercury, in accordancewith welli emcee will rise suiiiciently to establish com n'iunica-, tionbetween the sleeves q and q". As soon as the motion of the vehicleceases the mercury will resume its horizontal level and thus break thecircuit.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Iatent 1. The herein-described automatic circuitbreakerconsisting of a rotatable hollow body adapted to contain a conductingfluid and constructed of two sections of conducting material insulatedfrom each other, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described automatic circuitbreaker, consisting of a hollowbody mounted to-rotate about a vertical axis and adapted to contain aconducting fluid, said body being constructed of two sections ofconducting material separated by a horizontal ring of insulatingmaterial, substantially as set forth.

3. In a rotary ci rcuit-breaker, a cylinder for containing mercuryformed of two metallic end sections, and an insulating-sleeve receivingthe end sections and provided with an annular rim projecting between theends'of the said end sections, as specified.

4. The combination, with a wheeled vehicle, of an electricgeneratoroperated by the rotation of the wheels, an accumulator electricallyconnected to the said generator, rotatable circuit -breakers in saidconnection, drivingdisks movable from one circuit-breaker to theadjacent circuitbreaker, means controlled from the generator-shaft forrotating and iongitudin-ally moving the said disks on their axes, and alamp in circuit with the accumulator, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a wheeled vehicle, of an electric generatoroperated by the rotation of the wheels, an accumulator electricallyconnected to the said generator, rotatable ciruit-breakers in saidconnection, drivingdisks screwing upon the generator-shaft and movablefrom one circuit-breaker to the adjacent circuit-breaker, means forholding the said disks against rotation while they travel longitudinallyof the said shaft, and a lamp in circuit wit-h the accumulator,substantially as described. 7

6. The combination, with a wheeled vehicle, of an electric generatoroperated by the rotation of the Wheels, an accumulatorelectricallyconnected to the said generator, rotatable circuit-breakers in saidconnection, drivingdisks screwing upon a shaft rotating with thegeneratorshaft, said disks being movable from one circuit-breaker to theadjacent circuit-breaker, springs clasping the said driving-disksbetween them to hold the disks against rotation while they travellongitudinally of the said shaft, and a lamp in circuit with theaccumulator, substantially as described.

7 The herein-described electric generator, comprising two series offield-magnets, each magnet having its poles facing each other, and themagnets of diiferent series having their similar poles located adjacentto each other, magnetic bars connecting similar poles of the magnets ofone and the same series, diamagnetic strips separating the adjacentconducting-bars of different series, and an armature mounted to rotatebetween the poles of two field-magnets, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination with a velocipede,f an electric generator thereon, arod fitted to slide and turn in a bearing on the machineframe, a shaftmounted in one end of the rod, a friction-wheel on one end of the shaft,a spring on the rod for holding the friction- -wheel in engagement withone of the groundwheels of the machine, gearing between the said shaftand generator, and a locking lever or handle for preventing the said rodfrom turning in its bearing, substantially as described.

In witnesswhereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twowitnesses.

JULES ALBERT A'GERON.

Witnesses:

- GAUREND,

EUGENE WATTIER.

